I recently had a conversation where my interlocutor lamented that the Church “wastes” money on buildings and salaries instead of focusing on “the work of the church”, which is, in his view, feeding the poor. While that is, indeed, an important part of the life of every Christian (or should be), is that really “the work of the Church”? I think, no, it is not the primary work of the Church.
…This sure does sound familiar. It seems a lot of people today refuse to believe the God of the Old Testament, but refusing to believe doesn’t it make it not so. What’s old may be new again, but it’s still wrong. 🙂
Great post by DeYoung. Go read the whole thing.
Marcion’s theological errors (and there were many) came from one main root: he refused to believe that the God of the Old Testament was the same as the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ. Marcion simply could not believe in a God full of wrath and justice. So he threw away the Old Testament and took for his Bible a truncated version of Luke’s Gospel and selectively edited versions of Paul’s epistles. When all the cutting and pasting was finished, Marcion had the Christianity he wanted: a God of goodness and nothing else; a message of inspiring moral uplift; a Bible that does away with the uncomfortable bits about God’s wrath and hell. Marcionism was antinomian, idealistic about human potential, and skittish about dogma and rules.
Source: Marcion and Getting Unhitched from the Old Testament
Last Sunday, my wife and I received an answer to many years of prayer as we were given the opportunity to help our oldest son, Andrew, to faith in the Lord. As a Christian parent, I can’t imagine there’s anything more satisfying than seeing your child come to Faith, and that we were able to help him make that all-important prayer brings joy beyond description.
We have been talking to Andrew about the Lord since before he could read. We would read the Bible to him, teach him the truths of God’s Word, explain to him that God loves him, etc. We were careful, though, not to push too hard or try to convince him of his need; that’s the Spirit’s job. We have, though, done our best to be faithful to teach him as he grows, trusting that the Lord would grow the seed He planted through us. That Sunday morning at church, then, our pastor was continuing his walk through the book of Mark (you can listen to the whole sermon, which was great, here, or see below). At the end of the sermon, Andrew tapped Angela on the shoulder and told her, “I think Jesus wants me to ask Him into my heart,” adding “My heart is beating really, really fast.” 🙂 She was excited, of course, but she told him that we’d talk once we got home.
Once we got home and finally had the chance to talk to Andrew without distractions, we asked him about what he told Angela. For a while, we gently probed, not wanting to “trick” him into a decision he might not be ready for. Those that know me well know that I went forward at a church service once, thinking that I was making a true profession of faith, only to realize years later that what I had done wasn’t authentic. Perhaps I’ll write that up in another post, but it should go without saying that we wanted to make sure Andrew made this decision for himself, and that it be authentic and truly efficacious, so we were very careful.
After some discussion, Andrew told us again that he was ready. He had told us this before, several weeks ago, but he seemed to be fully aware this time of what he was saying. We bowed our heads, then, and helped him walk through that simple prayer. After the prayer, we hugged on Andrew, and reiterated to him how much we loved him and how proud of him we were. What a precious time that was. 🙂
No one can truly know, of course, the heart of another with certainty, but I’m convinced the Andrew had finally come to the point where he knew what he needed to do, and I’m so proud and pleased that I can now call him my Brother.
As many of you may know by now, my Dad passed away on January 4th after a five month battle with cancer. In the days leading up to his death, and certainly in the days after, I’ve done a lot of reflecting on my Dad – who he is, what he stood for, and what he meant to me. When my Dad died, the world quietly lost a really good man.
Dad was big on family. He was always saying that what he wanted was for us all to be together, to get along, and he wasn’t just saying that. When Dad was a boy, he didn’t have a good family life. For example, when he was in the fifth grade, he was living in Shreveport, LA with has dad, who had divorced his Mom some time earlier. One morning, Dad awoke to find himself alone. His dad had left sometime in the night, so Dad wandered downstairs from the apartment they were living in to find help. The waitress in the diner downstairs had not seen my granddad, but, once they determined he wasn’t coming back, she helped Dad get a bus ticket back to Oklahoma City and his mom. Dad didn’t know the waitress’ name, but until the day he died, he was extremely grateful for her kindness.
My granddad’s departure from my Dad’s life was pretty typical for him, from what I’ve been able to gather. Because of his dad’s example, my Dad was determined that his children would have it better, and he worked hard every day to make sure that we did. We moved from a house we all loved to where he and my Mom live now (though it’s just my Mom now) to allow Mom to quit working so she could stay home with us. He did his best, especially as we got older, to avoid traveling for work as much as possible. I’m not sure if that cost him professionally, but it sure was nice having him home.
Dad was a big believer in being self-sufficient. I don’t recall ever getting a “speech” from him on the topic, but his life exuded it. He often talked about how he had to fix his own cars from the time he was (almost 😉 old enough to drive. He was constantly working on TVs, VCRs, microwave ovens, cars, air conditioners, etc. to fix them himself. While I don’t have the know-how to fix things like he did, I can see in myself that same determination to do what I can for me and my family.
He did, of course, recognize that sometimes you do need help, and wasn’t too proud to ask for it. Or give it. Every one of my siblings and I have needed and gotten help from Mom and Dad over the years, from automotive to housing help. One of my fondest memories of the generosity of my parents comes from a rough time in college. One semester I found myself quite short on funds to pay for my college expenses. Skipping meals wouldn’t even come close to covering my shortfall. One day, though, Mom and Dad showed up with a check for, if I recall correctly, $1,200, which I’m sure wasn’t easy for them, but they made the sacrifice so that I could stay in school. I’m not sure Dad understands how much of an impression that made on me.
During Dad’s funeral service, I was reminded of how important Dad’s faith was to him. This was highlighted very subtly by the fact that the speaker was not only the pastor of his church, but one of his best and closest friends. Since Tony and Regina came to that little country church, Mom and Dad spoke often of the times they’ve spent with them. During his eulogy, Tony shared how often Dad was helping him personally, and of how often Dad was at the church making sure things were working, that everything was being taken care of. When Dad was first admitted to the hospital in December, before things got really bad, he would repeatedly…complain about missing church, how he hadn’t missed a Sunday in so long. Up until the point he could no longer speak, he would speak openly of his faith. Despite his cancer and the complications it caused, he never wavered, nor did he question God, to my knowledge. He was a man of Faith, and lived by it until the day that faith was made sight.
During all of this reflection, it was interesting to see, consciously, the effects my Dad has had on me over the years. His attitudes, his beliefs, and, much to the chagrin of wife, even his sense of humor can be seen in me in one form or another. In that way, the old cliche that he lives on in us is, indeed, true.
Even more important, though, is that my Dad does live on, in every way more alive than he ever was. My Dad knew Jesus Christ, not just as some good man who lived long ago, but as his very real, very alive, and very personal savior. It’s that relationship with the Lord, I think, that really made him who he was, that gave him such and authenticity and fervor. I’m eternally grateful that that relationship drove him to raise us in a Christian home, to make sure we were in church, to make sure we had the opportunity to come to know the Lord ourselves. He loved us and the Lord enough to put up with countless youth over the years at summer camps, which are some of my favorite memories. Of all the things Dad leaves behind, that legacy of faith, I think, is the most significant.
After we said our good-byes, or, more accurately, “see you laters” to my Dad on that cold Thursday morning, I finally returned to my church a few days later, taking my place once again in the orchestra and praise band. While I still mourned and missed my Dad, I felt oddly rejuvenated in my faith and service, and somehow connected to my Dad, as I honored him in my continued service to my church and my Lord. As my Dad now perfectly worships the Lord in Heaven, seated at the feet of the One who died to make that possible, I can’t help but think that he’d approve, that he would be proud. I sure hope so, because I am who I am today largely because of my Dad. One of my life’s goals is that my legacy will honor his.
Today is Reformation Day and marks the 490th anniversary of Martin Luther’s nailing of his 95 theses to the Castle Church door in Wittenberg, Germany on October 31, 1517. Rather than hearing me blather on about it, I’ll turn things over Stand to Reason here.
Just about everyone seems to know who Joel Osteen is, and there are far too many Christians who accept his teachings, a dangerously soft “Gospel” that leaves sin and judgment out of the picture. Michael Horton, of Westminster Seminary California, has a great series of articles dealing with the problems in Osteen’s teachings. …
Knowing my love of history in general and Church history in particular, my incredibly awesome wife got me Foxe’s Book of Martyrs. Since I almost always have at least one book going, I’m just now getting around to reading it. I’m only 40 pages or so into the book, but to say that it has been challenging doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface. …
I turn 20 years old today, spiritually. It was on this day 20 years ago, at a sweltering Falls Creek service, that I tapped my Dad on the arm and asked him to go down to the front with me, where I put to rest the question of my standing with the Lord. It’s hard to believe it’s been 20 years (and that there’s an event I can rememeber from that long ago. I’m getting old! :). I’ve grown a lot, I think (and hope), over the past two decades, but each passing day makes it that much clearer that I still have so much more room for growth. I know I won’t ever “[lay] hold of it” in this life, but, with the Spirit’s help, I’m trying to get as close as I can. 🙂
That’s it. Have a good day. 😛
In a recent Time article, Al Mohler concedes “that science may one day prove homosexuals are born gay” and he very well could be right. This was greeted by the homosexual community with a fair amount of glee, until they read where he states that, even if this scenario should come to pass, it in no way changes the morality of the lifestyle. Conservative evangelicals hold that homosexuality is a sin, no matter what its cause, just as we don’t condone drunkenness, gluttony, and chronic anger, for example. It may be that there is a biological cause for these lifestyles (indeed, there is strong support for a predisposition to anger and gluttony/obesity), but that doesn’t negate their harmful moral and physical consequences, nor does it remove from those afflicted the necessity to resist the predisposition. These people1 (and, maybe, someday homosexuals) may have the deck stacked against them, genetically, but that doesn’t mean one should just give into any old urge that crosses our mind. To that point, we all have the obligation to pursue a life of holiness, whether our sin is as “big” as homosexuality or adultery, or as “little” as speeding or “white” lies. The Holiness of the Lord makes no distinction, and neither should we.
1 I use the phrase “these people” with the painful understanding that it is far too common for Christians to separate ourselves falsely from “these people.” It doesn’t take a whole lot of honesty to see that we’re just as flawed as those we pharisaically excoriate, so it is certainly with the humility of an admitted sinner that I make these statements, knowing full well that I have my own list of offenses for which to answer.